This is the longest amount time so far that Cain has gotten to spend with Maggie, who, despite her name, doesn't seem to have a particular problem with Elves.
"Orcish Family names only change when you accomplish something great. I was born an Elfsbane, and I'll stay one until I do something great enough to earn a new name. The castle defense was pretty good, but I'd need to hold it alone or something equally memorable to earn that sort of recognition." She explains as they eat.
That's an exciting way of keeping history. You get named after the most remarkable thing someone in your direct lineage has done. "Does that work the other way as well? Do they name people after shameful failures until they've redeemed themselves?"
"Not often, usually Orcs kill cowards, but if the rest of family were important, the community would change their names to shame them until they have atoned or died out trying." Maggie shrugs, unconcerned with the plight of those denounced as cowards and betrayers.
After dinner, they retire back to the keep, Cain carrying the half-asleep Misha to his room and tucking her into bed. Soon, he will move things forward between them. He needs to decide how. He knows she likes the newer, more dominant version of him, but he's unsure how far that desire extends. Should he give her a set of choices? Put everything in the open and let her decide how she wants their relationship to be?
Somehow all the options he's willing to give have the same outcome, just different ways of getting there. Cain doesn't care if she wants to be his advisor, wife, or even his pet, but he will make her officially his.
That thought circulates through his mind until he falls asleep with her in his arms, a deep blissful sleep with the whispering voices of the Merged Companions giving him all sorts of ideas on how to make things work best for him. If he wasn't so tired, he might realize what was going on, but instead he absorbs everything like a hypnosis session.
Nemu whispering in his mind about Pretty collars being the way to a woman's heart slowly imprints itself into his subconscious alongside Vala's requirement that he show strength and Nila's suggestion that a lady loves adventure, so he should bring her new places.
The Oath Breaker only loves killing things. Messing with Cain was secondary. But the Companions see the Merger as a Golden Opportunity to form themselves their perfect master—one who likes exactly what they want.
Cain wakes up after the most strange and intense night of dreams, glad to be back in reality again. Misha is stretched out across his broad chest, and he smiles down at her sleeping form, happy just to hold her for the moment.
"No more spicy barbecue before bed. Those were the weirdest dreams ever. But the one where everyone was naked on a ship still seems like a lot of fun even in the morning light." He thinks, making the Companions giggle.
Misha begins to stir, and Cain grabs her by the backside, pulling her up for a good morning kiss when the door to the bedroom bursts open.
"Come quick, we've got a problem," Maggie announces, grabbing him by the hand, heedless of his state of undress and where she just removed said hand from.
Cain is unceremoniously dragged down the stairs, hastily equipping his gear to return to his Mafia boss persona of the previous evening, only to find a group of low-level Guild members in the front room crying.
"What's wrong? Get me up to date." His voice rumbles with authority as Cain uses [Noble Command] on the nearest Guild member.
"We were upset with how slow Miss Char makes us level up, so we decided to skip to the Beastkin Dungeon for some levels. We can use the Guild Skill when she's not around, and it's not that far above our level, so we thought we would be fine. But when we called them, the Beastkin went crazy and swarmed us and then Sara, Sara she..." That's where the girl trails off and points to the mangled body of a female Orcish warrior, most likely their tank.
Knowing they're facing a time limit, Cain immediately uses [Eternal Solace Denied], bringing the Warrior back to life with a gasp. A half second later, the crying girl who related the series of events that led to her death casts a healing spell on the risen tank.
"This will reset you to level 1 once I release you from being my Puppet. But first, do you even understand what clear and obvious mistake led to your death?"
The Orc shakes her head sadly, not knowing where they went wrong. "No, sir. One minute everything was fine; the next, we were being swarmed. I don't understand; the group that are 5 levels above us do it without the summons and survive just fine."
Char storms in with a positively furious look on her face. "Did you think to ask that group what I taught them about the Beastkin Dungeon? Or did you charge in blindly?"
"Well, they're only a few levels above us; it shouldn't have been so hard." One of the human mages complains.
"What they learned, that you should have before entering, is that the Beastkin can smell demons, and it enrages them. Let me guess; you called out Wrath Bringers to be just like me, right?" They cringe at Cain's angry voice but nod in agreement.
"Alright, you miscreants. You're lucky you found Cain in time. One or two more minutes and your foolishness would have gotten your friend killed permanently. Now follow me, and I'll decide your punishment." The icy tone the Shaman uses has them all panicked, fearing for their fate.
"Guild Master, can't you keep me with you? Punish me here as your Puppet or whatever this state is?" Sara begs.
"Puppets don't have free will. Are you sure that's what you want?"
"Please, you don't understand. She's so mean and bossy, always telling us what to do." Sara is nearly in tears again.
"I'll help you understand. Strip off your armor; you don't deserve to be wearing it now. Then Kneel and kiss Char's feet while you beg forgiveness for insulting her."
"But I'm" That's as much as she gets out before her body reflexively responds, leaving her in her underwear before she drops to her knees and begins begging.
"Miss Char, I'm so sorry I doubted you and called you a tyrant. Please forgive this unworthy Orc." The others stare in shock, unable to accept that the proud warrior followed such a demand without hesitation.
"You can stop kissing her feet now and pay attention to me instead. That's what it means to have no free will. You will do exactly what I say when I say it, no matter how much you don't want to. Now answer, do you want to remain a Puppet or restart at level 1 and accept her punishment?"
Sara sits up on her knees, trying to cover herself with both hands, a horrified look on her face. "Please, no. I'll be good. Just release me, and I'll work my way back up from level 1."
"That's what I thought. Just so everyone understands, I would never take that ability too far, but nothing stops me from doing so. You don't want to end up in her position, or even worse. So listen well to the ones with experience, and don't jump into the unknown without at least doing basic research. If you'd even bothered to ask the most simple questions first, all of this could have been avoided. Instead, Sara is paying for your mistakes and nearly paid with her life."
That's enough scolding, and they all begin to follow Char downstairs to the portal except Sara. She tried but found she hadn't been permitted to move.
"I'm going to release you now. Get dressed and follow Char home. I hope this little lesson was enough to teach you to value your life." Cain says, patting the Orc on the head.
The spell is released, and the girl equips plain clothes before looking down at the door and bowing. "Thank you for saving my life. I know it didn't come without a cost, but still, thank you."
"Be careful on your way home. At level 1, you'll be very weak and squishy. You might want to keep a few increased HP items on until you get used to your demotion or regain some levels." Cain shoos her off after the group and turns to where Misha and Mythryll are standing, looking sadly at the departed Guild Members.
"They won't forget that anytime soon. Not that Char would let them even if they tried." Mythryll says.
Misha shakes her head and sighs. "Imagine losing everything to start over at level 1 because your group got impatient. And to save what? A month or two at the very most?"
"Enough with the sad thoughts. Everything is sorted, and their story should keep others from doing anything so reckless. At least they made it out with only one group member dead. If they had been truly unlucky, none of us would ever know what happened to them."
"How about another dungeon after breakfast? One where I can fly around all day. With an obstacle course." Laura suggests. Does she think they'll find another obstacle course? The one he's merged with seems to think so. Or at least desperately hopes so.
