When all was said and done the trio had spent a handful of hours entwined upon the bed, Alustriea being the weakest had collapsed first but even as a Lizardfolk, Osilliaice wasn't one to last much longer compared to Xing Lei who seemed to pull additional stamina out of the air. As elf and lizardess rested, the kobold had set about preparing the cauldron for his training. Herbs and blood were placed within before the kobold hopped in to the mixture. His eyes shifted to a cowering form in the corner, the poor drider twitched as her more innocent mind had shut down around the time Osilliaice was blaspheming against the gods in the kobolds name.
Feeling a pair of eyes on her Aunrae roused herself and looked around,the hours of lewd noises and sights apparently had ended and now the kobold was apparently cooking himself. Those yellow eyes were watching her, letting her know he knew she was there. Scuttling over she frowned at the reptile before studying the mixture. Chattering softly she asked, "Lewd kobold, what purpose is this vile mixture? Are you a blood mage?"
Xing Lei shook his head sending a small burst of qi into the concoction as it started to roll and bubble, steam wafted off the surface forcing Aunrae back by the heat, yet she could see no fire beneath the cook pot. Tilting her head she laid a hand on the wrought iron but felt no heat, yet the surface bubbled and roiled as if it was working up to a good boil. Xing Lei sat in the mixture serenely, paying the drider little mind except when she reached to touch the frothing device, "Do not touch, with your limited body you may as well touch acid."
Aunrae glared at the kobold but backed off, scuttling around the cauldron slowly observing the process, "What are you doing lewd kobold to bathe in acid?"
Xing Lei chuckled relaxing on a seat in the base of the cauldron, "Training, similar to what you and your family has been doing but more in depth." Aunrae was quite likely the house information network, he didn't fear knowledge of what he was doing getting back to the others, body tempering was something to be done before you spirit cultivated, in his distant past others had tried to temper the physical after they trained their spirit and found that their bodies trained to handle Heavenly tribulations gained nothing from body tempering. It had to be done before you started truly cultivating.
Aunrae watched him curiously looking to the other barrels, skittering over she tested the blood in either barrel then looked back. The kobold chuckled, "Yes, the formula is different. My women are behind me in cultivation, around rank three or four. Me I'm closing on rank nine. Naturally you who has never body tempered would be able to handle their solutions, briefly and not handle mine at all."
Aunrae skittered back over watching him curiously, "Will you teach my family this training?"
Xing Lei shook his head, "From what I've seen, other than Pellanistra, you all have started cultivating that manual, this training is no longer suitable for you."
Aunrae tilted her head glancing towards the bedroom, "Will you kill mother?"
Xing Lei shrugged, "Haven't decided. As I told her yesterday, my killing intent depends on how well your elder sisters remember they're not my match. If they try and kill me again, I'll likely cripple one to warn the other. If I'm targeted yet again or they try and take action against my women, I'll tear this house apart."
Aunrae looked to the bedroom again, "So if I attacked those two, you would destroy this house?"
Xing Lei tilted his head, "I take it you want the place destroyed?"
Aunrae nodded, "Mother, sisters, brothers, servants. None in the house are good people, better it is destroyed."
Xing Lei sighed squatting down with just his muzzle above the surface of the blood, "Why do you want your family to die, because of your curse?"
Aunrae watched him submerge, patiently waiting for him to emerge before she answered, "Yes. My form is because I angered my mother, I sought to leave Cheth Rrihinn, it is not my place. I belong on the surface not in these tunnels."
Xing Lei wiped the blood away from his eyes regarding the drider, "What makes you believe that?"
Aunrae sighed looking around, "Drow and elves once lived together in the distant past, we can do so again. The world above is full of resources, down here there is rumor of food stocks running out, soon a war will break out."
Xing Lei listened and shrugged, "Plenty of wars for even worse reasons up there."
Aunrae frowned, "But at least there is food and ways to get more. Down here food stocks are running low, houses are stockpiling to beat each other. Soon the cavern will be filled with too much death, death unseen for ages."
Xing Lei looked over the drider with some disbelief, it seemed she had been fed a line by someone that the world above was a land of plenty, where food was everywhere and easily attained. Alot believed it, but all it took was a visit to the capital of the old Ironhand kingdom to disprove it. The poor and destitute choked the back alleys. People dying of sickness and hunger littered the gutters of those back ways unseen by the city at large. Wealth was abundant up there but that wealth was held by few that could lift you up or grind your bones into the dirt.
He was reconsidering his opinion of the stealthy drider, the curse apparently not only stole her form but also devoured her intellect but to be sure he focused on her, his eyes glowing softly...
==========
Name: Aunrae Luen
Gender: Female
Race: Drider (Drow)
Level: 2
Class: Rogue
Title: Cursed Child, Blessed by Quellia
Strength: 15 Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 18 Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 6 Charisma: 4
[Sealed] [Sealed]
Condition: Cursed, Healthy
Innate Abilities: Drow Tongue (Young Adult) Rank: Adept, Cursed Tongue (Adult) Rank: Professional, Web Spinning (Senior) Rank: Adult, Poison Bite (Youth) Rank: Ranker, Spider Climbing (Adult) Rank: Expert
Skills: Weaving (Adult) Rank: Professional, Stealth (Senior) Rank: Expert, [Shadowstalker First Path - One with Shadow] (Teen) Rank: Adept, Drow Swordsmanship (Young Adult) Rank: Trainee, Drow Religious Rites (Infant) Rank: Novice, Drow Spellcraft (Infant) Rank: Novice, Basic Unarmed Combat (Teen) Rank: Trainee, Surface Knowledge (Senior) Rank: Professional, Elven History (Senior) Rank: Teacher
Unspent Attribute Points: 2
Cursed Child - From birth doomed to poor luck
Blessed by Quellia - Blessed by the drow goddess, favored by divinity.
===========================
Xing Lei studied her status with some interest, as he had started to suspect, despite her size she was fundamentally flawed. Physique wise she was quite strong, a vitality likely boosted by her curse form, but the trade off was a degradation of her mental ability, it would be wrong to say she was stupid, for it appeared she had almost exact memory recall.. she just lacked a filter that controlled it, in essence she was perfect for gaining Intel and recalling it without personal inflection.
Shaking his head he relaxed in the blood that was starting to feel somewhat lukewarm, his own tempering was going slowly, this was his second cauldron and his body didn't feel any different. It was known as the the body temperment physical tribulation, crossing from rank eight to rank nine was met with an insane level of resistance, the body was so strong that it seemed like nature rejected further tempering. It COULD take more, but just how much resource wise you had to sacrifice to cross the threshold was unknown. Some could do it in their first bath, others took hundreds, his old body had taken sixty three attempts.
Aunrae watched over the kobold as he climbed from the blood, unlike the others the amount of impurity in the cauldron was almost non existant. Still, using a bucket, Xing Lei scooped out the sludge and incinerated it in the bathing chamber so as to not disturb the sleepers. Still despite his intentions a loud knock sounded on their door. Rinsing off quickly he headed over, opening the door to see the rather sly looking Nadal waiting for him beyond the entrance. "Ahhh the most handsome of kobolds, I hope I did not disturb your rest, I came to train. Of course if you'd rather head back to bed I'll happily keep our strong teacher company..."
Xing Lei flinched a bit. Summoning a fresh robe from his ring he hauled it on and slipped out into the corridor with the young master of the House. "Where's the training field?"
Nadal smiled white, white teeth against onyx lips flashed brilliantly, "Just a short walk over to the martial drill field. First Sister is also waiting, though I doubt she has the tightest buttocks in Cheth Rrihinn, like myself..."
Xing Lei felt for Calimar, those words seemed to be Nadals sales pitch and considering he stated it loud and public it was hardly something the youthful drow kept quiet. Still, he wanted to rush ahead and not arrive in the company of this rather immodest dark elf. Xing Lei was sure to arrive with Nadal would lead to strange rumors about himself. Like days prior he was lead through the house, but unlike the slaves Nadal... Never. Shut. Up. Even as they neared the drilling fields Nadal was going on about how this cute little goblin kitchen slave had the biggest...
"Nadal! Is that damn kobold here yet?!" Burryna yelled hearing her brother babbling on.
Nadal squeaked and hung his head as the pair stepped onto the field, "Sorry First Sister, I have brought him as instructed."
Burryna for a change of pace was decked out in a suit of leather armor, she held a large claymore like blade as she stood in a circle of warriors, many of whom jeered and bet on how long her opponent would last. Getting closer Xing Lei could see a mangy kobold shuddering opposite Burryna, with almost comical ease she swept in the claymore swung one handed and lopping the reptiles head from its malnourished neck. Smirking with contempt at Xing Lei she plunged the large blade into the headless corpse. "Oh I'm sorry teacher, hope it wasn't someone you knew...?"
Xing Lei looked to the corpse and shrugged, walking over to a weapon rack he picked up a heavy iron staff, the weapon was insanely inflexible and had a weight that could make most trained warriors scream in agony just trying to lift let alone swing. Yet he casually picked it up and tossed it one handed to Burryna who carefully caught it, feeling her arms drop as the solid metal weapon dragged her arms down.
"Your training begins with that. Without activating your path you must fluidly complete one attack routine with it, if you miss step, slow down or lose control of the staff you shall repeat the exercise."
Buuryna blinked hefting the heavy staff, the thing was generally something given to ogre or half giants to spar with, yet the kobold wanted her to train with it? Gritting her teeth she had to remind herself that the kobold had gripped it one handed and tossed it just as casually, his strength was unrealistic compared to his small frame. Focusing she started her usual routine but within the first two motions the heavy weapon pulled her formerly firm stance aside. Growling at herself she began again cursing Xing Lei for not letting her use the technique, with it this staff at best would be like a greatclub in her hands.
Turning from her he snapped, "Nadal!"
The young drow man snapped to attention glancing at his sister, "I don't have to do that do I? I don't think I could even lift such a thing..."
Xing Lei shook his head, "No your task is to run around the perimeter of the House, you have five breaths. If you can't do it in five breaths you must start again. Continue until you can do it."
Nadal swallowed slowly, "Surely you mean around the drill field...?"
Xing Lei shook his head, "I said what I meant. The entire compound, walls structures everything. Slack off, or refuse and I'll know and I will focus on training your rivals instead of you. Begin."
Watching Nadal take off like Burryna was chasing him down to shove that iron staff up the self proclaimed tightest buttocks, Xing Lei glanced to a side he whispered, "Aunrae watch your siblings, if they slack off or lie about completing their task you are to inform me, as payment... to deepen your connection with shadow focus on the darkness become one with it, your path will ultimately lead to shadow traversing, going from point a to point b will no longer be a physical event, you need only see a shadow you can recall and the path will take you to it."
The shadow didn't answer but the shudder of the spider body told him Aunrae had listened and understood his words. Melding into the darkness she kept tabs on the two siblings. Watching her skittering off Xing Lei turned to return to his own training, Aunrae would keep tabs on her siblings well enough...