'The King's Proclivity' was a school of thought that stood in opposition to many religious movements the world over. It promoted a more secular view of noble society that originated from the workers and farmers. To put it bluntly, it was a common man's manifesto that stated that most Kings couldn't be trusted to be 'faithful.' It served to disconnect leaders from their divine right.
Kings care about one thing, keeping a hold of power and establishing a long-lasting legacy through it. That can't happen if you never have a son. How do you prevent yourself from ending your bloodline? You impregnate as many women as humanly possible.
The King of Sull has no less than fifteen wives, if we presume that 'wives' are a concept that people entertain – which they don't. You don't go to a chapel to get married. You don't hand out expensive rings. You don't even have to keep just one partner, even as a woman. These were concepts isolated to some religious sects without the wide-reach to enforce their practices.
There were a lot of religions in this world, but none of them had established the same level of dominance as the ones from home. Most did not have a designated head of faith, instead being animistic expressions of favour towards deities and gods - popularized within a particular culture.
Of course, people could still get jealous. That was a natural feeling that collective belief couldn't quite shake. Those multi-partner relationships are still rather rare versus the more traditional one-on-one relationships. People with the time, money and will to take multiple partners were usually nobles concerned about having a shotgun blast of children to inherit their property.
Anyway, I'd heard no less than five different stories from five different sailors during the week's journey about how many wives the captain had. Each one escalating in order with more women added to the count like a game of telephone. Three, five, eight, nine, and finally eleven.
Other helpful titbits I'd learned through idle gossip included a soup recipe that 'made your knob bigger,' the exact fat content of a common Pascen squid, and an intense argument that encompassed several people and lasted three days, about what the best sexual position was for congress with someone from Balsand. To wit, people from Balsand weren't special – the sailors just thought that they really enjoyed doggy style.
Cali only found her sea-legs as we approached the end of the journey. During that time, she vomited over the sides on several occasions without a single complaint. The seas around Pascen were fierce but things smoothed out later on. Benadora spent most of her time cooped up in the officer's quarters, working on her research. I occupied myself with exercise, card games, getting drunk, and watching the blue skies roll by.
In the end I concluded that I could not do this for a living.
The novelty of being on a ship with so many people, the creaking wood and smell of the sea was enough to entertain me for the time being, but it would wear off with enough experience. When it came time for us to make landfall, the entire crew gathered at the edge of the deck to try and get a good look at the continent from afar. Through the mist and the heat, the vague black figure of the landmass emerged.
"Land!"
The sailors started to celebrate. We'd made it without any major issues. I was almost shocked at how smooth things had been. I continued to study the approaching island. As we came closer, I noticed that something was strange. I'd never been here before, so you could forgive me for not knowing. The edge we were approaching looked like a set of cliffs from afar, but as the air cleared I realized that my assumption was incorrect.
It was a building.
A building so large in scale that it held the dirt and grass above it like a great titan. Towering white pillars held aloft, cradling inside a black abyss that swallowed the daylight. The closer we got, the more the size of the place struck me. A civilization had built this temple-like abode into the side of the cliffs. There were windows and pathways and even staircases moving up and down the floors.
"That is the Tall School," Benadora explained, clutching her hat as a blustery sea wind threatened to snatch it away.
"That's the Tall School?" I didn't expect it to be on the coast.
"Impressed? A work of ancient architecture that resists even the seas. It's a profound privilege to see it for yourself."
"Thank you Master Benadora!" Adrian declared.
I pushed away from the barrier and shrugged, "Well, it is impressive. I'll give you that much."
It must have been sitting there for a very long time to have topsoil over it. There was an entire ecosystem taking place on its roof. Adrian gushed, "Nobody has ever mapped the full extent of those halls. It also has a reputation for being a nest for dangerous monsters. We're taking the next step in trying to change that."
"That we are, Adrian," Benadora concurred, "We should make the most of the time we have while we're here. We have enough supplies for two weeks of study. Ren, Cali, prepare your equipment and meet me back here. It's time to disembark!"
We crammed ourselves into a smaller rowboat and pushed ourselves to the landing point. We weren't going to moor the ship outside of the school itself. The crew had found a good place for us to set up a base camp, within walking distance of the target. As soon as we made landfall, Cali leapt onto the sand covered beach and rolled over, happy to be off the ship that had been playing hell with her stomach for a week
"I didn't realize you had such a weak gut."
"I did not want to inhibit our earning potential by refusing to board." I had to give it to her, she was dedicated to the cause. The rest of the team started working to set up our launching area, quickly throwing together a fire pit, tents and storage. I made a cursory inspection of the area and found nothing threatening.
That could change though.
I didn't know what kinds of beasts roamed around here. Hell, I didn't know anything about Versia aside from rumours and hearsay. I knew that most of that information was complete bullshit. I had names and nothing more. I did hear some say that large tribes of native Versia people controlled many of the most fertile areas. There was no one unified 'Versian' identity. I'd heard a variety of descriptions that ran the gambit from them being humans, to more esoteric ideas about them being half-dragon.
There was a large incline that led up and over the cliff that ran to the left and covered the Tall School. I carried my body upwards on the shifting sands and dirt to peer over the ridgeline. It was an impressive natural formation that grew taller and taller with distance. We'd landed on the shallow end to make navigation easier. To get to the School we'd need to walk along the beach again. What awaited me at the summit was utterly breathtaking. The entire plateau stretched out before me, covering with thick jungle, verdant grassland and volcanic formations.
I wish I had a camera.
I slid back down to the bottom of the dune and found Benadora knee deep in a pile of books. She'd brought an entire library with her for some reason and housed it under a large red tent. She'd certainly made herself comfortable. "So, when are we heading out and investigating this place?"
"As soon as we're able. I don't want to waste one second while we're here."
"And what exactly did we come here for?"
"Our sponsor is looking for copies of markings, writing, in the Tall School you can find that kind of thing on the walls. Documents and books… have unfortunately been left subject to the elements. Short of them being confined within a dry, secure container – there's little to hope for."
Cali poked her head around the corner and demanded my attention, "Ren. Someone is here."
"Someone?"
I followed her back outside, at the bottom of the slope that I had descended moments earlier was a group of three strangers. Normally I'd be hesitant to deal with them, but they had made their presence known for a reason. They weren't here to attack us.
The eldest man in the middle was really, really tall – at least eight foot, and had claw like feet that reminded me of an eagle. His hair was braided into a thick tangle of knots and loops. His bare skin was marked with light blue paint, or maybe tattoos, forming a series of intricate patterns. His arms were covered with thick brown feathers, but I was unsure if they were real or merely decoration.
To his sides were a pair of younger women. They also towered above us, each perched atop digitigrade bird feet. They wore nothing over their chests, revealing a similar spate of tattoos and marks. Each held a wooden shield and long, spiked club. The man spoke in a foreign language. The two escorts listened attentively before singling me out and translating his words.
The woman on his left pointed to me, "You. Warrior?" she asked. I nodded. Even her hands were covered in yellow, dried skin. She was rather attractive, though that opinion depended entirely on how much muscle you could handle. She was strong, with six pack abs and biceps like cannons.
"Seek treasure? Knowledge?" I nodded again. She shook her head gravely and motioned to the cliffs where the Tall School resided, "Beware. Great beast inside. Good warriors, slain."
I turned back to Benadora's tent and called out for her, "Benadora, we have visitors!" Having ignored Cali the first time, Benadora finally emerged and graced us with her presence. "It seems that we're not the first people to try getting inside there."
"Big. Strong. Feasts on bone."
Benadora wasn't going to let something like that stop her, "Ren. That's why I brought you and Cali. Whatever it is, it can't be so difficult for us to deal with. They just want to keep us away so we don't disturb their land."
She struggled to put across her point, "Slay many brother and sister. But victorious outsider, rewarded! Be brave."
They wanted us to kill it, "I see. If we offer its head, we'll be rewarded?"
"Yes."
Benadora was curious, as she was so often. "A native with a grasp of our language? I suppose a great many traveller has come here just as we have."
She smiled, pleased with her own recognition skills; "Language? Taught, by visitors. I am Tahar Shul Hel Ten."
I nodded, "Ren. This is Cali and Lady Benadora."
"Ugh, don't call me Lady. I'm not much older than you!"
I doubted that.
The old man barked out another guttural command. Tahar listened closely to his words and translated them for us, "Treat land with care, bounty in return. I can help. I will guide. Slay beast, honour in turn."
"It appears she's offering us her assistance," Benadora posited.
"Yeah, I got that. What do you think?"
"They may be trying to keep an eye on us so that we don't cause too much trouble. Though her help and guidance will no doubt be a valuable asset to our study."
"I think we should bring her with us," Cali added, "She understands this place better than any of us."
I saw straight through her, "You just think she's going to be dangerous."
"…Yes."
"I'm leaving the security decisions to you Ren. You have the mindset for this type of thing," Benadora said.
I had my own share of apprehensions to run through about this one. Benadora made a good point, she knew more than we did. The odds of us finding another native with a grasp on our language was very low, and she was actively offering us assistance. This wasn't a chance we could pass up so easily – and they knew that. Rather than launching an ambush and potentially getting people hurt or killed, they had concocted a more devious strategy to control outsiders arriving to loot and plunder.
Offer them a helping hand, potentially mislead them and keep them away from the valuable areas and your village. Not that I believed for a second that our motley crew of drunks could hope to beat them in a fight. They were huge and even the old man had a body that would make most mercenaries jealous. I did not want to be on the other end of that club.
On top of that, they were going to make us do some of the hard work for them. They must have a reason to want to head into the Tall School, but this monster is stopping them from doing so. Labour in exchange for freedom and trust. The woman looked very eager to join us, for what it was worth. She was a student of the outside world, she didn't want to miss a chance to speak with us and learn even more.
"Okay. You can join us." With my affirmation she turned to her elder and explained what was happening. He smiled a toothy grin and took my hands into his own. The deal was settled. She said her goodbyes to the pair, who returned up the slope and out of sight. Another party member added, another problem to solve.
The first order of business was learning what this 'monster' was.