“Galyn, can I have a word with you, please?”
Galyn glanced up from his makeshift desk. Retvik was standing in the doorway, arms crossed and with a hint of annoyance and anger.
“I have an idea of what you are going to say, but yes, you may come in and talk to me. Close the door behind you.”
Retvik did as asked, gently pulling the door shut, before stomping over to Galyn’s desk. He pulled up a chair and sat down, while Galyn pushed paper to one side.
“I did not want to be the one to come in here and talk to you. But Litvir and Kuta do not have the courage to ask, so, well, I am here. I do agree with what they want to say though.”
“What is the issue?” Galyn asked. “Is it about Kinisis?”
“Yes,” Retvik leaned forward, lowering his voice. “The other two are concerned that you may be romantically or sexually attracted to Kinisis.”
Galyn’s shoulders dropped. He sighed loudly several times, then took a sip from the glass of water to his side.
“Ser, are we right to be concerned?”
The Elder Decay Lord nodded. “Yes, you are right. I do not like the two Psions trying to look into my mind, but yes, you are correct. Something about Kinisis is utterly intoxicating to me. And I say that as someone who specializes in poisons and toxins…”
“Is this a Life Goddess thing? The same sort of thing you mentioned could happen between Arkay and myself?”
Galyn nodded some more, quite clearly annoyed with himself. “I am falling for her, like a fish to bait. Something about Kinisis makes me want to sit down and consider… creating something big. Urges that I was pretty sure I got rid of, and have now come back to haunt me.”
Retvik thought for a moment, then blinked a couple of times, trying to work out what to say next. “Is this… does this happen with all Life Goddesses? You have not had this problem in the past.”
“Most Life Goddesses are rather cruel. Particularly towards beings like ourselves. An unkind Life Goddess is easy to escape from. One that is willing to talk, make compromises and, well, allow us to exist… that is a whole different story.”
Retvik frowned, leaning to one side. “Arkay would disagree.”
“About what?”
“About Kinisis being a good being. Personally, from the few times I met her before… all of this, I felt very neutral towards her. Not a bad being, but not a good being either.”
Galyn shook his head, this time sighing very loudly. “That there is the problem. I do not know her well enough to come to an informed decision and you already have a negative bias towards her.”
“Do you really like her that much?”
“No, no…” Galyn tutted. “It is just my ancient, primitive brain forcing blood into the wrong places. I definitely do not want to do anything creative with Kinisis.”
“I would not recommend it myself.”
Galyn nodded in agreement. “You are absolutely right. I do not want to. While I am happy to accept what she has already gifted us, I do not want to make things awkward.”
Retvik smiled a little. “Good. I was hoping you would say that.”
“Anything else you wish to ask about?” Galyn asked, changing the subject.
“No, boss…” Retvik replied as he got up from the chair. “That is everything for now.”
“Before you go though, Retvik, may I have a quick word with you?”
Retvik paused, then shrugged. “Sure.”
Galyn lowered his voice, growling slightly. “Please can you inform Litvir and Kuta that they are NOT to read minds or sense thoughts without permission. Understood?”
Retvik bowed slightly. “I will let them know.”
“Thank you, Retvik.”
“Same to you, Galyn. Have a nice day…”