MageCrafter - 17. Kotik's Birthday. Part 1

The small mining village where The Old Man’s Tavern resided in was noticeably vacant of residents this morning. The reason for this was the same reason it had been vacant the last time the maids had shown up in force. They were evacuated from the area by the Bertolde estate for their own safety. Some had not seen the reason for that evacuation until that horrifying minute where the sky itself was lit up with blasts of magic and the crazed howls and roars of so many werewolves flooded the night air, even over the thundering rainstorm. The village still hadn’t quite recovered by the time the Old Man informed them they’d be coming back. Even the ones who had been reluctant to leave the last time were all too happy to make their exodus out of town and wait for the powerful magic users and the potential trouble they might bring to go away.

Whatever the Bertolde Estate was up too, they were of such a higher caste than anyone living in the village that none really dared offer more than whispered curses towards their local rulers for causing the village so many issues. Though the Duke was a fair man, even the fairest of Nobles were not to be taken lightly, especially when they had so much magical firepower at their disposal. There was also the fact that they did not have to evacuate the village in the first place. Many of the more level headed residents were able to inform their angrier counterparts that many of their kin could have been killed in that brief skirmish if they had not been made to leave beforehand. The Dukedom knew Preja Bog was attacking, they said, so it only made sense to ensure the safety of its citizens. Some even felt glad for being under Duke Bertolde once they came to such conclusions, though the accuracy of such assertions is tenuitive at best.

On that clear morning with dew hugging the grass outside, the air in front of the Old Man's Tavern warped and popped, causing A carriage surrounded by several Maids to appear. Inside of this carriage was a very excited little Lynxian who was wearing a quite fancy frilled suit that had rather short trousers that only just qualified as such, and quite high stockings that ended just above the knee, giving a flash of his thighs in the middle. This with a tailored overcoat that was split deeply in the back to leave plenty of room for his tail to maneuver. The entire getup was white and blue, the colors of the Bertolde Estate and Lord Baldric, and was made to accentuate his absurdly fancy collar around his neck.

One might question who the Noble was in that carriage with an outfit like he was wearing, however it was generated out of compact frozen snow and ice by Lord Baldric, who had designed the look entirely for his little lynxian. He even put a bell both onto his collar as well as the tip of his tail, which Kotik actually found he liked after a moment of feeling embarrassed about it. He had had to do some training on how to walk in the heeled shoes he was wearing, but thanks to his collar’s accelerated learning he had been able to pick up the art even faster than Bavaram belly dancing. This was partially due to his tail and extra set of ears offering a level of balance that a normal human simply did not have.

“And who be this fancy youngster showin up at mah tavern this mornin?”

“OLD MAN!!” Kotik leaped, not ran, directly from the carriage and into the arms of the elderly man who still looked quite built even in his old age. One of his eyes was clouded and there was a scar dragged down the entire side of his face down into his tunic. He let out a grunt at being tackle hugged around the neck, which was subsequently followed up by Kotik’s legs and tail wrapping around him as well as he hugged the man as hard as he dared without hurting him.

“Whoa there, y’all gonna bust this old man’s bones if’n y’all hug me any tighter.” He said with a laughing admonishment of the lad, patting him on the back as Kotik pulled a way with a huge teary smile.

“Y’all know how much business Ah’ve been losin since I haven’t had mah star server and food catcher helpin round here?” The old man said, poking Kotik’s nose, “The customer's swear’n up and down that it just aint the same without ya youngin, it’s given me quite the handful! Ah done think ya spoiled the lot of em!”

Kotik was so moved at that moment he simply opted to bury his face in the neck of the old man and just hug him like that for a moment while the other members of the carriage stepped out. One in particular that had to employ every spec of his noble and performer training to keep himself from freaking out was one Lord Baldric, who knew exactly who that old man truly was. The Old Man seemed quite pleased with the fear of Baldric, if only slightly showing, and decided to have fun with it.

“Say, Kotik…” The old man started with a grin and looked over at the Lynxian who still had his face buried in his neck.

“Mhmmm…” Kotik replied, not looking up.

“Ah didn’t recognize this Noble boy when ah first saw the lad, but ain’t he that Bertolde boy who galavants about the world chasin youngster bum like he be a breedin dog in heat?”

Never in all the years of the Bertolde Estate’s existence has their MaidStaff been so utterly incapacitated.

The epic struggle to hold in their laughter at the comment was only worsened by Shahnaz and Count Raudh, who both spat and burst into such an uproarious fit of giggles that they collapsed on the ground in front of the Tavern. Even the strong willed Maids had to hold onto the cart for support and turn away from the utterly devastating description of their lord.

Shahnaz looked up to see that Lord Baldric actually had a small flush of embarrassment, the shock of which made her laugh even harder on the ground. She was probably the only maid in the whole estate comfortable enough to do such a thing since she had such a close relationship with Lord Baldric. It would be quite some time after the fact that the phrase “youngster bum” didn’t incapacitate Shahnaz where she stood.

Kotik meanwhile looked positively mortified. He took the old man’s face in his hands and looked at him with pleading eyes. “Old Man. You can’t say that kinda stuff to a noble! You could get hurt!”

“Oh ppssssh, Ah’m old! Ah’ve done mah time in this world. If’n ah go out bringin a noble brat down a peg or three ah say that’s a good way ta go.”

“But I like him.” Kotik said, his pleading look only going stronger. The old man let out a strong sigh and ruffled the boy’s well groomed hair and ears. “Alright I’ll be nice to the whipper snapper, but only cause y’all like him okay! If’n y’all start to not like him just let yer old man know and ah’ll thump him good for ya!”

“Old man! Nobles!”

He let out a raspy laugh as he carried Kotik inside, letting him take in the homey and quaint looking birthday party they had set up. It was nothing fancy. Streamers, scented candles, banners that read “Happy Birthday Kotik.”, it was just the normal looking birthday of a peasant boy.

Kotik was actually shedding tears of joy at the sight. He was having a hard time keeping his lip under control looking at all of it and had to bury his face in the old man’s neck again for a minute to steady himself. It was everything he had wanted before all this happened. Nothing big, nothing fancy, just a little Birthday Party for one time in his life. The old man seemed both pleased and in some pain holding Kotik and seeing him go through all those emotions. It only made his wrath at the people who had hurt his boy over the years grow even more as he comforted him in the Tavern.

It wasn’t long before the fun actually began however. One particular moment of delight among the pleasantly chatting guests and games was the epic struggle that was the arm wrestling match between the birthday boy Kotik and Count Raudh.

“I would like to challenge this supposed undefeated champion of arm wrestling to a duel!” The Count had said with a competitive smirk on his face, which Kotik was only too eager to match in intensity. Unlike with sex, where Kotik took great delight and pleasure in being submissive and surrendering control to others, in competitions like this the Lynxian’s competitive spirit shone through.

On paper, it looked like Count Raudh had the arm wrestling match in the bag. His arms were so much more defined and muscular than Kotik’s own supple limbs, and he took quite a lot of pride in his physical prowess. However the Ruby haired lad knew from his race and his sparring match with Kotik that the lynxian was not to be underestimated at all.

“Whoa there, look at this youngster go! Ah’ve never seen anyone last more than a few seconds against Kotik!” The old man said with a genuine laugh as he watched the two lads grinning like predatory beasts at each other as their arms shook so desperately to claim dominance over the other. Count Raudh had gotten a surprise lead early on by employing every strength esoteric item he had to give him an edge against his much stronger opponent. It had taken the lynxian by surprise and almost made him lose, but the birthday boy had halted the Counts advance just before his arm hit the table. Kotik’s eyes went into slits and his mouth took on a huge grin as he began to shakily push his arm back against Count Raudh’s own, making the Noble lad’s face grow red in concentration as he tried to maintain that early lead. Even with employing his Barbarian esoteric items to augment his strength however, the struggling count was finding his trembling arm slowly but surely being brought to the other side of the table. If he had more strength augmenting items it might have helped, but he preferred ones that augmented his speed over strength cause he normally was more than strong enough for what he had to deal with.

The old man held Kotik’s arm up in victory when he had finally slammed Count Raudhs arm into the table, shattering the poor thing’s legs in the process from the force of it. Raudh, who had his breathing so controlled the day before, found himself sweating and huffing slightly after that epic struggle. He was grinning though, his affection for the Lynxian had only grown seeing Kotik get so spirited in their competition of strength.

Lord Baldric surprised Kotik by materializing a strange instrument with a crank on the end of it. The instrument looked a bit like a fiddle he had seen Bards use, but far more complicated. It looked so strange resting on Baldric’s lap in front of the onlookers, with both buttons, strings and even a hidden compartment on top that he could open and close. It was seemingly designed like someone couldn’t quite figure out what kind of instrument to make and just decided to make an amalgamate of several, and put a crank on it for good measure.

Kotik had laughed when Lord Baldric had amusingly held out the instrument and said. “Behold Kotik, The Hurdy Gurdy.”

“It cannot be named that!” Kotik said through giggles, even the maids joined in at that, though they looked more excited than amused since they knew what the young lord could do with that instrument.

He started off simple, playing a few plucking notes on the instrument, as well as tapping on the instrument for something of a percussion beat. The notes sounded strange in the room, echoing differently than other sounds that were playing on the air, lingering longer like they were in a cathedral instead of a Tavern. Kotik liked the subtle notes and thumps he was making with it, enjoying how calming it was, however it wasn’t long before he detected something off with what he was hearing.

After he would play a pattern of notes, the sounds of those strings or the raps against his instrument began to repeat and continue to play like he hadn’t stopped. The effect was he built up a foundation melody, and he began to add onto that with ever more exciting and strange sounds that he elicited out of the Hurdy Gurdy. Some of them sounded almost like horned instruments. Some sounded like the soulful warbling cry of a singer with how he made the strings let out those pleading cries with his fingers and the crank. Then with rapid flicks of his wrist back and forth he began to coax out of the instrument on top of all the other sounds the energetic playing of a fiddle. If that hadn’t shocked the lynxian enough, Lord Baldric then began to fully twist the crank in earnest on top of all the former notes, which elicited a truly haunting, almost metallic sounding cry on top of that.

The effect was staggering after only a couple minutes of playing, as the layers of mesmerizing notes, crying strings, and heart thumping, almost metallic warbles he could coax out of the instrument flooded the air like there was an entire band of bards playing in the Tavern right then, not just one lone player. Kotik’s eyes and both sets of ears were transfixed on the masterful handling of this strange instrument he had not even known Lord Baldric could play. Even the way the various notes echoed and played within the room was under Baldric’s control. The things he seemed to be able to accomplish with sound alone made the lynxian’s cheeks flush and his eyes practically grow hearts in them as he stared transfixed at the Bluish white haired lad.

The old man had to take an especially large swig of alcohol after seeing that look on his boy. ‘Must not smite the noble brat, must not smite the noble brat, must not smite the noble brat.’ That was the mantra playing in the Old man’s head as he tried ever so desperately to put his own feelings aside for his boys sake. The way he saw it, he had no right to dictate what made his boy happy after he hadn’t been there to protect him when he needed it. The guilt that plagued the ancient gods heart after finding out how his boy had been living had driven him to bend a lot of arms in the greater pantheon to get himself down here for his extended stay to turn Kotik’s life around. He was just happy his efforts had ended up bearing some fruit, even if not in the way he particularly liked.

Surprisingly he had less issues with the Ruby Haired lad, though the way he had used his boy in sex made the god truly wish to rip him a new asshole. However the relationship Kotik had with him outside of the carnal was more masculine and competitive at the very least. With Lord Baldric, Kotik was the spitting image of a fair maiden swooning over her true love. It was a side of Kotik that the cat boy did not give to anyone else. Still, he had no right to try and do anything about it. Not after what Kotik went through.

Now, if Kotik is upset with Lord Baldric or he breaks his heart, well that’s a whole different matter entirely! That was what The Old Man clung onto even as Kotik had approached Baldric after such a performance and openly gave him a chaste kiss in full few of everyone present, which got some playful jeering noises out of Count Raudh and Shahnaz towards the two lovebirds, telling them to get a room!

NOT IN MY TAVERN, the old man thought with a huff even as he poured another swig. No smiting the brat!

Eventually, the moment of truth, the Birthday cake was brought out. It was a simple thing of chocolate and icing with some candles. They could have had the Bertolde estate make it, but the Old Man knew in his gut his boy did not want his Party to be any frilled out noble affair like that. Kotik had to struggle against tears and quivering lips again as they sang The Tavern’s Birthday song that he had heard for other patrons in the past, and even other kids that had come in with their families on occasion. The painful nostalgia coupled with the longing he had had for a moment like this made it very difficult for him to see by the time the cake was placed in front of him. Still he was so happy when he stared down at that simple birthday Cake, beaming with such simple joy that it melted the hearts of all the onlookers who were present.

Which made it all the more terrible when the maids they had placed on scrying duty outside had burst into the Tavern to report dire news.

“Preja Bog just loosed out a crap load of enemy forces out of it heading right this way!” The Maid said with some alarm in her voice. “It’s not like last time! She’s coming! She’s left the bog! She turned into some strange werewolf thing and is coming right for this village!”

The Maids normally would have immediately began mobilizing right away to counter this threat, but a powerfully bone chilling shift in atmosphere hit the room so hard it gave every single person their goosebumps.

All slowly turned to stare at the Birthday boy who had his eyes transfixed on his cake as his body trembled.

He had been so close.

So close to having just a simple, happy birthday party.

A wave of blackness radiated from Kotik’s seat and began to slowly encompass all the wood within the tavern, thorny growths poking out the whole way as it slowly but steadily enveloped the entirety of the place of business from floor to ceiling. At that moment the only things that were visible were the glowing flames of the birthday candles, and the enraged, dilated, slitted glowing blue eyes of a crying cat boy. A Lynxian who radiated such a murderous intent that The maids actually moved to protect the Nobles. The deep growl rumbling from Kotik was of a far deeper tone than had ever come from him before, sounding like it should come from a Lion instead of a cat boy.

Those enraged eyes snapped ever so suddenly over to where Count Raudh was in the darkness.

“Count Raudh.” Kotik said in a deathly calm voice which sounded even over his lion growl, “You said that i’d need to meditate on an emotion in order to become a Barbarian. Yes?”

“Uh huh?” Squeaked out the Count, shaking in his knee high sandals at the terrifying presence Kotik was exuding.

“Everyone leave the Tavern. Now.” Kotik ordered, turning to face forward into the Birthday cake. “Buy me some time. I have some very powerful emotions I need at least one God to pay attention to right now.” The way he growled that last part out through gritted teeth said he was so unbearably close to just losing control of his rage entirely.

He was done trying to hold all these feelings back. Now that he knew he could present them to the gods of emotion, he knew what he needed to do.