When Trystle eventually starts to lead Boartraum, it becomes clear they she's taking him along the same route he just followed Seylen on, but at a leisurely pace. "Gotta give him some time," the girl explained to the boar. The scent of the sow was still strong as they wound down through the tower, finally reaching the ground floor stable (or dungeon), and heading for the light of the opened doors.
There's some evidence of past market activity, no doubt when things were more prosperous. The remains of booths and benches and tables have been swept to the edges of the area, but have also found new life in an odd way: being used to create a miniature representation of this part of the city. The docks and towers are there, made of piled up stone and boards, along with other ramshackle constructions from whatever is available, like low walls made of loose bits of masonry and stones. It seems rather precarious. Standing next to it all, look proud, is Seylen - who is also a bit out of breath.
"These two are crazy. Simply crazy. But ... they're kids, comes with the territory," Boartraum thinks as the squat beast ambles along. He also has to wonder if Trystle has some sort of magical ability with animals; being around her makes him feel more like a pig and less like a person.
"Wow, you've outdone yourself this time!" Trystle says, and hugs her brother. "Where should we start?"
"The walls, I think, leaving the towers for the finale," Seylen suggests.
Trystle turns her gaze back on Boartraum, and grins. "Ready to play?" she asks. "You're gonna be the Beast of Babel!"
And the boar looks up at Trystle quizzically. "You want me to break everything?" he wonders as it eyes the girl, the boy, then the makeshift mini-town.
The girl points at the first wall, and wiggles her fingers. "Isn't that a mean wall? I bet it's challenging you!" she says.
The boar snorts as if the wall wasn't even remotely a challenge. Then ... he proves it by ducking his head and charging at it, full steam with the intent of ramming it! With his head no less! With luck hopefully he won't damage the Eeee part of his brain and just leave the pig.
There's a crash, and debris goes flying everywhere. It's not like anything was holding the wall together after all. A few bits stick in Boartraum's hair though. The two Eeee are whooping and cheering.
And Boartraum stops, waits, and tries to see if his head starts hurting after that!
It doesn't hurt.. it fizzes a bit. There's a definite adrenalin rush from it. For a boar.. it might count as being fun.
Boartraum shakes out his head to dislodge any clinging debris. It also makes his nose ring flop around.
There's another wall. Standing there. Mockingly.
Boartraum walks up to it and glares. He also snorts ... then with an impressive show of muscle given it has to propel a manu hundred pound boar, he whips his backside around and smashes into it with his back rump to demolish it.
"They've never done that before!" Seylen says. "What do you even call that?"
"Hah! It's.. it's.. the dance of destruction, the boar butt bump of.. of.. boomitude!" Trystle calls out. "Now trample it down! Show that wall!"
Boartraum can't help himself; when the girl orders something he feels compelled to do it. So, he does. He backs up, then runs over the remains, turns around, then runs over them again. Then for good measure he goes and bounces on what is left.
The Eeee love this, cheering Boartraum on. And with each bit of smashing, he gets more excited about it! "Don't forget to snarl and roar!" Trystle calls out.
The next closest wall soon finds itself turned into a could of dust and wood bits when he charges through it, full speed. Command given, the boar actually growls, snorts, and snarls as he tears through it. He's likely a fearsome sight to behold; and yet the Eeee are cackling! Kids are weird.
There's a brief urge to roll around in the wreckage.. but there are more targets still. Like the towers! Boartraum is bigger than the city!
Wall after wall disappears beneath the rampaging, tusk-bearing, boar of doom. It's only once all the little things are dealt with that the real challenges soon face his wrath. The boar hunkers down, hooves clawing and scraping at the dirt beneath them before he charges. Then with a gutteral snarl the boar charges, slamming the full force of his mass, head first, right into the tower.
The flimsy structure explodes, scattering debris that damages the nearby towers and takes out one of the faux-dock levels.
"Hah, there goes Velkarno Tower," Seylen says. "'Bout time!"
And the boar then rolls around in the debris afterward, insufferably pleased with itself.
"Can he run right through the docks?" Seylen asks Trystle, who replies, "I bet he can jump onto them!"
the Boar takes that as his next command and rolls back up to his feet. He backs up a bit, then charges the tower! Once close he jumps as hard as those short legs will allow him, attempting to land on top of the pile of junk (and hopefully not impale himself).
It isn't like there's anything sharp in the mass.. at least, not sharp enough to effect a boar's hide. And since he hits trotters-first, the model doesn't offer much resistance. Wood splinters, towers are pancaked, and a lot of dust rises up!
And Boartraum rolls around in the pile of his victory. Better than a pile of his own filth, thankfully.
The teenagers are busting their guts with laughter, until finally they catch their breaths. "Should we do it again?" Seylen asks, and Trystle manages to nod. So they start assembling new walls, leaving Boartraum to his own device. At least with the lack of new targets, his blood is starting to cool a bit, making it easier to think non-piggy thoughts.
"That was more fun than it should have been," Boartraum thinks as his brain starts to clear and he struggles to get back to his feet and shake himself off. He also glances towards the kids and debates ... could he make a run for it now? He could also sneak out at night when others sleep too given he knows the way down here now.
It takes another ten minutes to rebuild the obstacles, but there is plenty of interesting stuff smashed into the ground for a hog to root around for. Dromodon droppings, shed scales from the Nagas, and even wheel tracks from the the weight of the sow pushing it down further. And then it's time for another rampage!
And the frustrating hog brain keeps him distracted with rooting about until the obstacles are in place, costing him once chance at escape. But ... doesn't matter because once there is more stuff set up, there is more carnage! The area is filled with copious snorting, snarling, and the crunching sounds of shattering wood as the hog runs circle after circle, obliterating everything in his way!
Once he gets going.. well, the kids are forced to try and build things where he can't see, so he doesn't trample them before they're finished. Lots of non-built obstacles get smashed as well, just because they were close to the edge of the area and looked semi solid, like old tables and such that were too big for the Eeee siblings to use.
And at some point Boartraum might have been chasing the kids around the area for a bit too. It's a bit hard to remember when instincts are ruling the brain. Hormones are an annoying thing.
Eventually, Trystle has to bring things to a stop. She uses a very soothing voice. It doesn't really matter what she says though, it has a calming effect.
And the boar draws to a complete stop and tips over, landing in a heap of porcine flesh.
"He needs to cool down," Trystle tells Seylen, who is also out of breath. The girl kneels down and rubs Boartraum's side. "He's the best one yet! He really understands me."
And Boartraum ends up nuzzling against Trystle's leg affectionately. "Come on, brain clear. You're not really a pig," he tries to think.
"You really need to test your voice out on people more," Seylen says. "It worked on that drunk guy. Maybe it would work on people who are asleep.."
Boartraum, in spite of his size, is trying to climb into Trystle's lap now!
The girl oofs, and manages to sit and just let the boar's massive head rest in her lap. "You have a heavy head, Bertrum," she notes, and scratches behind his ears.
"You probably shouldn't let him do that," Seylen says. "Your legs will go numb!"
"Then I'll just have to ride him back up into the tower," Trystle counters.
Boartraum snorts loudly at Seylen. He then noses the girl and nuzzles around in her lap.
"No truffles there!" Trystle laughs, since it tickles a bit. "Watch the ring!"
"That is just wrong," Seylen claims. "I wouldn't want a monster like that nosing around my lap. He might bite something off!"
The boar keeps on rooting about anyway. For a little bit anyway, until he gets bored and ends up resting his head again.
"You'd better wash those pants, they'll smell like hog-breath," Seylen points out.
Boartraum snorts at Seylen again. He thinks he smells just fine.
"Pffft! Who's going to smell it? I don't recall anyone in the tower sniffing my crotch before," Trystle points out.
"Well.. if it smelled nicer maybe someone would," the brother points out.
Thinking that is a command, the boar resumes sniffing Trystle's crotch.
This gets the girl giggling and squirming, so she pats on Boartraum's head a few times, saying, "That's enough! Hah!"
Boartraum grunts, disappointed. Still, he obeys and stops.
"Now go eat Seylen's trousers," Trystle whispers loudly, giving her brother a crafty look.
And so Boartraum gets up and starts towards Seylen. He also licks over his lips slowly.
"Hey, that's not fair!" the boy claims, and takes to the air. "You can't know that he understands what trousers are! What if he took a bite out of me?"
And in a flash Boartraum is upon Seylen and chewing on the Eeee's pants!
"He'd still have to go through the trousers first!" Trystle claims, laughing. She gets up and clambers onto Boartraum's back. "You can let him go, otherwise he'll start screaming like a little girl!"
Boartraum snorts, loudly, the slobbers on Seylen's face. Only then does he climb off the other Eeee.
"You gotta be careful, Trystle," Seylen claims as he tries to get back to his feet. "He could've crushed me you know."
"Awww, he wouldn't have really hurt you," Trystle claims.
The boar snorts again at Seylen as if to tell him 'hardly'.
"Now I need to change too," the boy complains. "Father won't put up with us being this grungy. You know how he is.. acting like we're supposed to look like proper nobby brats and all even when it's just us at dinner."
And so the boar rubs against Seylen again, to make him smell extra-hoggy. He's a bit of an annoying hog at time, yes.
"At least Bertrum doesn't see you as a competitor," Trystle claims, riding atop the boar. She then pats his side and says, "Let's go back to my room now."
The boar trots past Seylen, obeying the nice lady ... and then passing gas on the Eeee boy as he heads back towards the long passageways back up through the tower. He knows the way by now; her room is easy to find.
After Seylen is left gagging, it's an uninterrupted ride back. Once in the room, Trystle does remove her clothing and give it an experimental sniff. "It's not like dad has a good sense of smell anyway.." she mutters, spritzes herself with some perfume.
And of course Boartraum then promptly rubs up against her again! He does not smell bad!
And now he smells a bit like perfume. "Augh!" Trystle yelps. "Don't knock me over, Bertrum," she says. "If you behave yourself, I'll try to bring you to dinner. You might impress father, when he sees how big and smart you are."
The hog snorts at that, then goes and flops back down on his pile of clothing. "All the father will comment on is what a good meal I would make, I suspect," he thinks as his brain clears a bit more again. "Now, can I figure out where the fetus come from before morning? I have to leave the tower before then or Tulani will twitch."
Trystle even uses the vanity to make herself look presentable, and puts on semi-fancy clothing.
and Boartraum resists the urge to try and eat the fancy clothing.
"What do you think?" the girl asks, doing a little spin before the hog. "Do I look like a proper young woman of noble birth?" she asks, making her voice sound a bit snobby.
Boartraum tilts his head this way and then. The hog then snorts and even seems to shrug. In this body, sadly, sows are what attract him. Disturbing, but true.
"You're about as much help as Seylen," Trystle notes, and goes back to fiddling with her hair. She uses a lot of combs to hold it all in place, rather than try to actually style it. "Eh, good enough for dinner," she decides.
Boartraum blows a raspberry.
"We can't all look presentably covered in dust and splinters you know," Trystle says, and pats Boartraum on the head. "I need to clean you up before showing you off, I suppose. So you can come with, but you have to stay outside the dining room and not make a mess if you do."
Boartraum grumbles seemingly not liking the idea of having to wait outside. Still, he does rise anyway and shakes himself off a little bit. "Maybe I'll learn something by listening tonight," he thinks. "If I don't, I still have to leave once everyone falls asleep."
Trystle lets the boar 'escort' her even as she leads him. The path is familiar up until they pass the kitchen. Instead of going up further, Trystle heads for a room on the same level. It's got large, arched double-doors. "Wait here, and don't molest the servers," she tells the boar. "They'll bring you something to eat, don't fret." Then she pushes open the door and strides forward into.. a very nicely kept formal dining room, which could easily seat two dozen Eeee. There's even a fireplace. The door starts to drift shut on its own.
And the hog moves forward a bit so that his bulk keeps the door from closing completely. He doesn't have Eeee hearing, after all; a closed door may cause him to miss something important. "This is a long shot but lets see what else I can learn before I have to escape," he thinks. And oddly, being a hog isn't as bad as being Yodhgorphat as it seems to have turned out. Just ... more chance of being eaten.
The head of the household, Persal Hortus (according to Tulani) sits at the nearer table head. Seylen is on his right, and Trystle sits on the left, putting her back towards the door. "How'd we do in the rumble today?" Persal asks.
"Well.. this was a bait match, according to the schedule, so we didn't rig the odds too hard," Seylen explains. "Still, cleared six-hundred twelve."
And Boartraum peers at Persel, trying to get as good a look at this man as he can, and gauge him to an extent on how horrible he is. Well, outside of being fine with smuggling dead babies that is.
The old man lets out a sigh. "Barely worth it," he grumbles, and drinks from a wine goblet. "Any trouble controlling things, Trystle?" he asks his daughter.
"No sir," the girl says, sounding.. not happy. "There never is," she points out.
"Don't take a tone with me," Persal snarls. "No telling when that witch-voice of yours will give out."
"Why do you have to call it that," the girl complains.
Boartraum growls in spite of himself. He does at least catch it fairly quickly and stop.
"It is what it is," the man replies. "Your mother was a witch, and what little talent she had got passed to you. It is not an insult. But you can't depend on it lasting forever, either. There're more hogs arriving tomorrow. Pick out a good sow. Time is not with us."
There are scents now.. roast pork. It isn't clear if it's from the winner or the loser of the day's match. But it's being brought from the kitchen on a platter.
"Time is not with you," Boartraum thinks. "Your children have more time. And hmm, witch? Perhaps I should introduce her to Cyprian." The smell then makes his hackles raise. Still, he shuffles out of the way so as to not be seen or obstruct the staff.
The waitstaff give Boartraum a wide margin as they pass, but don't seem shocked to find a boar outside the dining room. There are some vegetables, and a tureen of what is probably soup and a platter of bread and cheese. The family is served in silence, and it isn't until the staff leaves that conversation returns.
"You said we shouldn't take them so close together," Trystle says. "It's only been a day since the last."
"Doesn't matter this time, should be the last one," Persal says. "Final shipment."
"Your last rites too, jerk," Boartraum thinks.
"And then what?" Seylen asks. "We do real business again?"
"That's not your concern," the old man snaps. "I'm the head of the family. I take care of things. I don't expect to be gone for.. some time. Maybe never, if everything works out.."
There's an uncomfortable silence after that, as the children focus on their meal.
"You want to be a zombie, old man? Oh, I could arrange that for you," Boartraum growls softly again. "You're just a slave like that, a puppet. The real you is gone."
After some time, Seylen speaks up. "I don't suppose I could go to the Plaza tonight?" he asks.
"No," Persal says. "I've a visitor coming tonight and I don't want to be worrying about you getting drunk or worse and being useless tomorrow. You can go after this last shipment. Both of you can go, why not.."
"Thank you, father," Trystle says. It sounds like she's having the soup.
"A visitor? Hm. Is the vampire visiting tonight, I wonder. That is something I will have to intervene in," Boartraum thinks grimly. "I will need to contact Tulani, then return to myself to deal with this visitor..."
There is a slight interruption, as a servant places a washtub full of old vegetables and other leftovers not fit for Eeee next to Boartraum.
Boar instincts kicks in and eats ... and will have to shadow-eat them later so he doesn't get hog-sick.
The sound of his own eating overwhelms any attempts at eavesdropping, if there's any further conversation at all in the dining room. It doesn't seem the family has much to talk about.. or are all keeping secrets (like giant boars) from one another.
"Not much more for me to learn from them, I suppose," Boartraum thinks as he sits down after eating and seems to doze. In reality, he's focusing inward to use the shadow to deal with the food.
The pan is picked up, and servants start entering the dining room as well. Used dinnerware and uneaten food is carried out, and steaming cups and sweets (in the form of sugar-coated bugs) are brought in. Dessert is served, so things probably aren't going to last much longer. Sure enough, it's only a few minutes before Trystle asks to be excused.
This gets Boartraum's attention. He lifts his head.
"Looks like they fed you," Trystle tells Boartraum when she leaves the dining room. "Let's go. You need to be cleaned up."
Boartraum rises, stretches, and trots after Trystle. "If that vampire is coming, I need to get the children out of here," he thinks.
The girl is quiet as they return to her room. She hangs her dinner clothes up, and doesn't bother putting anything back on as she picks up a towel and leads Boartraum back to the old slave bath. "You won't have to be a water warmer," she says. "We're just going to clean you up."
Boartraum noses the Eeee's leg lightly and glances up. He might even look worried for a hog.
Trystle pours out some water, and gets the scrub brushes. She sits on the edge of the tub to clean the hog. "I haven't been to the Plaza in.. a long time," she tells Boartraum. "It'll be nice to get out, just me and Seylen. Maybe we'll get lucky.. and not have to come back."
"I can arrange that, actually," Boartraum thinks. "Though you may been the stuff of nightmares to do it. I don't expect many people will welcome seeing the real me. But ... better me than the father being undead-ified"
The boar clambers back into the tub without having to be asked. He does know what a bath is, at least.
"I'd take you along," Trystle says, a bit sadly. "But you might be recognized as being stolen." She brushes and scrubs away the dirt and other debris caught in the thick fur. No amount of cleaning would make Boartraum fluffy though. "So.. if I don't come back, you have to leave, understand? Go out to the bottom gate, where we were today. Go out and just.. become the Beast of Babel."
Boartraum does something he probably shouldn't do. He actually nods. The hog then leans in and presses his cheek against hers; probably for comfort and possibly as a goodbye.
"You're really smart and understanding, you know that?" the girl says, and kisses the top of Boartraum's head. Then the towel is brought out, and probably ruined on the tough hairs, but at least the boar is clean and mostly dry.
And the boar unfortunately then has the urge to roll in something stinky! Good thing this form should be relegated to just a memory soon. What follows, though, will be unpleasant. But, this man is a lunatic and must be stopped. He knows not of what he will 'get' as a reward.
"I think you look as pretty as I do now," Trystle tells the boar. "Sorry about that." She gets up, and pats her thigh for Boartraum to get out of the tub and follow her.
The boar clambers his way out of the tub and stands as if ready to follow like a puppy.
Back in the bedroom, Trystle closes the door and gets into her bed. "Been a busy day, time for rest," she declares, turning down the room's sole oil lamp.
And the boar heads back to the pile and settles himself down. For all of a couple minutes, anyway. The boar then gets right back up and climbs into Trystle's bed. He does leave some room for the bat, at least.
"This bed ain't too strong," Trystle points out, but doesn't actually ask the boar to leave. She's not getting squashed after all. "Just.. don't roll over onto me.." she says, yawning, and then goes quiet. At least until the snoring starts. It's probably the real reason her room is so far from the family quarters up above.
And there the boar also tries to go to sleep; for now anyway. He has to deal with the coming visitor, notify Tulani, and rescue these children. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward. But at least one thing is certain ... no more blasted hooves soon. He really misses opposable thumbs.